1. Field of the invention
The invention concerns a heat generator for automobile vehicles, more specifically adapted to supplying additional heat to the cab or passenger compartment of the vehicle and/or for obtaining or maintaining a sufficiently high motor operating temperature, even at idling speed.
2. Description of the prior art
There are known "top up" heating installations for automobile vehicles in which the heat is generated by maintaining circulation of fluid and creating heat losses in the circulation of this fluid. Thus numerous systems proposed comprise a restriction and a pump forcing a liquid through this restriction. Other known systems use vane members of which one is prevented from rotating and between which a liquid is circulated, becoming heated as a result of friction developed between the vane members. The invention relates to another concept for the production of heat utilizing friction members immersed in a heat transfer fluid. The invention is more particularly directed to regulating the heat energy produced, so as to make this largely independent of the rotation speed of the motor of the automobile vehicle by which the friction members are driven.